Look out Bitcoin, Here Comes NoFiatCoin

An oft-cited concern with crypto-currency is that it is not backed by anything “real.” NoFiatCoin (XNF) is a digital currency backed by gold and silver bullion. The idea is to combine the benefits of digital currency with the relative security of precious metals. At least one-third of every batch of XNF released into the market is backed by gold and silver coins. The transactions happen through Ripple, “the world’s open payment system.” You create a Ripple wallet, and buy XNF with U.S. dollars through Bitstamp, or exchange Bitcoins for XNF through Ripple. When you want to cash out, XNF will mail you (as in, physical mail) the value in coins. “Unlike other alt coins, we redeem our own balances — you can come in-and-out of the digital currency world with hard assets,” founder Robert Reyes told VentureBeat. However, buying XNF requires a significant amount of trust in Reyes a...